Here's a press release sent out this weekend from Nebraska Right to Life...
LINCOLN: University of Nebraska Regent Drew Miller’s comments to the Board of Regents vindicate what Nebraska Right to Life (NRL) has been saying to political and religious leaders for months, said Julie Schmit-Albin, NRL Executive Director.
“Regent Miller asked the Board of Regents on Friday to discuss placing an initiative petition on our ballot to ensure constitutional protection of unfettered embryonic stem cell research and human cloning,” said Schmit-Albin. “We have been citing Missouri as an example ever since they started their petition drive to do the same thing last October.“ The Missouri initiative gained 288,991 signatures in May and is currently on the November ballot.
“We have been in communication with our counterparts in Missouri and Kansas and know what they are up against. We have been telling elected officials, religious and pro-life leaders and our grassroots that if the Missouri initiative passes; Nebraska will be next. Drew Miller has just confirmed what we have been warning the Nebraska pro-life movement about for almost a year.” she said.
Schmit-Albin said Nebraska Right to Life continued to push for passage of a bill in the Nebraska Legislature the past two years which would have banned cloning. Mailings were sent this past legislative session in to targeted districts asking pro-lifers to contact their state senators to put LB 437 up for a vote in Judiciary Committee. LB 437, sponsored by Senator Adrian Smith, died at the end of this session without a vote in committee.
“At a minimum, our pro-life Judiciary Committee should have sent a shot across the bow to UNMC by passing LB 437 out of committee,” said Schmit-Albin. “That didn’t happen and now they will have to grapple with whether the issue will be taken entirely out of the Legislature’s hands and put to the people; where our opponents have the money to frame the issue as they have done in Missouri.”
“Regent Miller’s comments should not be dismissed as the rantings of a man on his way out of office.” said Schmit-Albin. “He has long mimicked the true desires of UNMC. Pro-life Nebraskans need to light a fire under their legislators now that we want this issue addressed in the next legislative session.”
For more information, contact Nebraska Right to Life.
